Test 1: Audi starts strongly

Star driver Mattias Ekstrom lost his series lead in the previous round at the Norisring, where Mercedes dominated thanks to its slippery C-Class bodyshape, excellent mechanical grip and ultra-powerful engine. Audi, meanwhile, believes that the twisty nature of the Nurburgring 'sprint' circuit will play into the hands of its sextet of nimble A4s.

"The Nurburgring was, and is, an Audi circuit," said Ekstrom. "At the Norisring there were simply too many Mercedes boys up front for my taste. It's time for me to take revenge."

True to his word, Ekstrom topped the first test session on Friday by just 0.045s from team-mate Tom Kristensen. Opels locked out the next three places with Manuel Reuter, Autosport-backed Peter Dumbreck and Laurent Aiello. Bernd Schneider, on the comeback trail after a dismal (by his standards) start to the season was top Mercedes in sixth, ahead of Christian Abt (Audi), Jean Alesi (Mercedes) and the surprise of the session, Jeroen Bleekemolen in the ex-Dumbreck Opel Astra. That car flew here last year, so the Dutchman is worth keeping an eye on this weekend.

Series leader Christijan Albers was back in 11th in his Merc, while man-of-the-moment Gary Paffett was down in 15th. Heinz-Harald Frentzen's struggles continue, the ex-F1 ace 13th fastest, over a second off the pace.